Park Avenue Food Mart had acquired the property via quitclaim in 2009 from Aman and Aman, who had purchased it in 2004 for $1.3 million from Stern and Stern Associates LP.

Built in 1986, the Class C retail center – whose alternate addresses are 3485 Park Ave. and 3461 Park Ave. – sits on 1.1 acres at the southwest corner of Park Avenue and South Highland Street. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal is $534,900.

Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports

– Daily News staff

Improved Cell, Wi-Fi Coming to Memphis Airport

Travelers and workers at Memphis International Airport should experience improved cell and wireless service.

Boingo Wireless, the leading provider of airport Wi-Fi and Distributed Antenna System services in the U.S., has been selected to design, build and manage the first DAS at the Airport.

Boingo will also continue to provide enhanced public Wi-Fi services for the airport, including tiered Wi-Fi services to meet the needs of travelers. The company will offer free, advertising-supported Wi-Fi to all passengers, enabling them to get online quickly and easily to check email, use social media and stay more entertained during their travels. Boingo will also offer premium Wi-Fi service options for travelers with data intensive demands such as streaming video or uploading large files. The new tiered Wi-Fi services are slated to launch in time for this year’s holiday travel season.

“We’ve heard the public’s request for free Wi-Fi and we are pleased to be teaming with Boingo to make that a reality,” said Scott Brockman, chief operating officer for Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. “In addition, travelers will benefit from the improved cellular service provided by the new DAS network being installed by Boingo.”

Boingo Wireless manages Wi-Fi services at more than 65 airports across the globe.

Southwest Profit Up On Higher Fares

The airline is gearing up for the holiday travel season, and officials say that bookings for November and December are strong.

Southwest’s results provide further evidence that the airline industry continues to rebound from the 2008 recession. Mergers have reduced the number of competitors, and the remaining airlines are boosting fares by controlling growth and limiting seats.

Southwest said Thursday that third-quarter net income jumped to $259 million, or 37 cents per share, from $16 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items such as fuel-hedging, the company said it would have earned 34 cents per share. That matched analysts’ forecast of adjusted profit.

Revenue rose 5.5 percent to a record $4.55 billion. Analysts were expecting $4.54 billion, according to FactSet.

The average one-way fare on Southwest increased 11.3 percent, to $159.39. That reflects longer flights – the average trip was 1,000 miles, an extra 41 miles – and long-term trends in fuel prices, chief financial officer Tammy Romo said in an interview.

Southwest, which begins service at Memphis International Airport next month, is converting more AirTran Airways flights to its own colors and brand, and expects to fully absorb AirTran by the end of 2014. The conversion includes using Southwest planes on international flights beginning next year.

– The Associated Press

Agriculture Accelerator Companies Chosen

The Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneur Center and Memphis Bioworks Foundation have released the names of the nine companies chosen for the NextFarm Agriculture Innovation Accelerator.

The accelerator was created in response to the challenge issued by Gov. Bill Haslam to make Tennessee the top state in the Southeast for the growth of the agricultural and forestry industries, and it’s led by a partnership between the Northwest Tennessee Entrepreneur Center and Memphis Bioworks Foundation.

The participating companies are in the midst of a development period in preparation for investment pitches in the first quarter of 2014.

– Andy Meek

Judicial Selection Question Receives TBA’s Backing

The board of governors of the Tennessee Bar Association has decided to stick with its support of a November 2014 ballot question that would allow the Tennessee governor to appoint appellate judges and have those appointments confirmed by both houses of the Tennessee legislature.

The leaders of the state bar association reaffirmed their support of the proposal this month after Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced his intent to keep in place a Judicial Nominating Commission to recommend finalists for such appointments. The commission went out of existence June 30, at the end of the last fiscal year, because the Tennessee legislature did not renew it.

Haslam revived it by an executive order issued this month after a Tennessee attorney general’s legal opinion held the governor can continue to fill vacancies in appellate judicial positions even without such a commission.

Tennessee Bar Association leaders say they back the amendment to the Tennessee Constitution on the November 2014 ballot statewide because it would also keep in place judicial retention elections in which voters choose yes or no on keeping an appointee to a judicial position.

– Bill Dries

CMOM Hosting Superheroes Monster Bash

The Children’s Museum of Memphis is calling on all superheroes and non-scary Halloween characters to help vanquish the city’s bad guys during this weekend’s Superheroes Monster Bash.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at CMOM. The museum wants visitors to come dressed as their favorite superhero or non-threatening Halloween character.

Kids can make their own superhero badge and compete for prizes in the “Mr. Bones Relay Race.” Superheroes can test their strength when they try to wipe out the bad guys in the big beanbag attack or show their super speed by being the first to complete the mummy wrapping contest. Bubbles the Clown will judge the costume contest and other mystery superhero guests are expected to be on hand.

Tickets can be purchased at the door and admission is $15 for CMOM non-members and free for members.

– Amos Maki

8th-Graders Better In Science Than Global Peers

When it comes to science, eighth-graders in Tennessee are doing better than their peers around the globe.

A study released Thursday compared every state, the District of Columbia and Defense Department schools against 38 countries and nine additional subnational education systems.

Researchers took eighth-grade test results in math and science from the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress to predict performance on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

Tennessee scored 524 in science, but got a 490 in math, one of three states that scored below the international average of 500 in that category.

Data earlier showed Tennessee’s high school graduates fell short of national results for ACT college readiness benchmarks this year.

The biggest gap was in math, with 29 percent deemed college ready, compared with 44 percent nationwide.